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Sentences handed down in crimes that shocked Nelson

Nelson Daily Staff
By Nelson Daily Staff
July 25th, 2020

Two major crimes that shocked the community during the past few years were concluded in Nelson Court Friday.

The first happened when Miles Halverson was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in a federal penitentiary for the killing of Matt Reeder in June of 2018 outside the Pharmasave Drug Store on 600 Baker Street.

Halverson, 55, pleaded guilty in 2019 to manslaughter for the killing of Reeder with a single kick to the head.

Both Halverson and Reeder knew each other.

At the time of the incident, Reeder was panhandling in the favourite spot of Halverson.

Nelson Police had earlier broken up a dispute earlier that morning between the two well-known members of the street community.

However, Halverson returned that afternoon to find Reeder panhandling at the same spot on the Baker Street sidewalk and dealt the killing blow with a single kick to the head with a steel toed boot.

Later in the day at Nelson Courthouse, Justice David Crerar ruled that Fiona Coyle was found not criminally responsible for the stabbing that happened outside the Nelson Trading Company building on 400 Baker street in September 2019.

Coyle, 50, was immediately taken into custody by Nelson Police after stabbing Ramita Kedia of the Slocan Valley numerous times with a 10-inch hunting knife while pedestrians attempted to stop her near the corner of Baker and Stanley Streets.

Justice Crerar ruled the Coyle suffered from a mental disorder, specifically “schizophrenia and schizotypal” personality disorder.

Coyle, who also stabbed a pedestrian attempting stop the attack, was arrested at the scene before being held in custody at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam.

Meanwhile, the knife attack victim, Kedia, continues to recover from incident.

Nelson continues to deal with its latest major crime after Abbotsford Police Officer, Constable Allan Young, was killed on Thursday, July 16, 2020 after trying to intervene in a street incident.

Nelson Police announced Wednesday that Constable Young died of his injuries, after being rushed to hospital in critical condition following the incident.

Nelson Police said a 26-year-old male was identified and apprehended on scene. The suspect is currently facing charges of aggravated assault.

Categories: Crime

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